Medical anthropologist and physician Paul Farmer, who has dedicated his life to treating some of the world's poorest populations, gave the 2004 Robert J. Weiss Lecture in May in the P&S Alumni Auditorium on "Global Health and Human Rights: Pragmatic Solidarity as a Path to Health Justice." Dr. Farmer, who is also a professor of social medicine at Harvard Medical School and an attending physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital, was invited to speak at Columbia by the Mailman School of Public Health and the Office of Global Health Training & Education.
In photo above, Paul Farmer examines a patient in Haiti.

J. Lawrence Pool, P&S'32 MSD'41, professor emeritus, former chairman of neurological surgery and a pioneer in the research and successful treatment of cerebral aneurysms, died on May 4 at age 97. Dr. Pool's numerous groundbreaking surgical techniques, including the introduction of the microscope to operate on cerebral aneurysms and the development of the myeloscope to locate problems of the lower spine, led him to become only the second American to receive the esteemed Medal of Honour of the World Federation of Neurological Sciences.

Under Dr. Pool's leadership from 1949 to 1972, Columbia's Department of Neurological Surgery and the Presbyterian Hospital became the largest and most prestigious neurosurgical service in North America. In partnership with his colleague, H. Houston Merritt, chairman of neurology at that time, the Neurological Institute became one of the world's great institutions for research, teaching, and patient care in the clinical neurosciences.

Dr. Pool made unparalleled contributions to the field of neurological surgery, especially in the areas of cerebral aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations, and acoustic neuromas, tumors composed of nerve tissue. Dr. Pool was co-author in 1965 with Dr. D. Gordon Potts of "Aneurysms and Arteriovenous Malfunctions of the Brain," a seminal work in treating bursts in the arterial walls of the brain. Until this time, most intracranial aneurysms were fatal. His influence continues through the many neurosurgeons he trained, including 11 who became chairmen of neurosurgery departments.

In addition to his work at Columbia, Dr. Pool served as a neurosurgeon in the U.S. Army in World War II, performing operations on soldiers in North Africa, Italy, and France. His interests outside of medicine were many. He was also an avid sportsman, pilot and watercolorist. Dr. Pool wrote numerous professional articles and books about neurosurgery, and about fishing and sailing.

James W. Correll, professor emeritus of neurological surgery, died in Hampstead, N.C., on March 26 at age 87. Dr. Correll, who spent his entire career in the Department of Neurological Surgery from 1955 to 1987, made many contributions to the understanding of the pathogenesis of stroke. He advanced the field through his numerous and in-depth laboratory studies on the role of the autonomic nervous system and lipid release. He was one of the pioneers of surgery on the carotid artery to prevent stroke, which led to a broader understanding of the prevention of this disease. A busy and indefatigable surgeon and surgical pioneer beloved by his patients, he was a mentor to many medical students and neurosurgical residents.

Violinist Midori Performs at Children's Hospital

World-renowned violinist Midori performed in the Wintergarden at the Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of NewYork-Presbyterian in June. Midori, who was accompanied by Peter Vinograde on piano, held the concert for patients, schoolchildren and CUMC personnel. The concert was shown live over closed circuit television in patient rooms for children unable to attend in person. The non-profit organization Midori & Friends has since 1992 provided music education programs to thousands of New York public school children.

Advisory Council Highlights Promise of Transplantation

The Columbia Presbyterian Health Sciences Advisory Council held its 2004 spring meeting in May, with talks by Columbia experts on the latest developments in transplantation, including trends in heart transplantation, living-donor liver transplants, minimal access and video-assisted thoracic surgery for lung transplantation, and islet cell transplants for diabetes. The Advisory Council also presented the Council Award for Distinguished Service to basketball star Alonzo Mourning, who was honored for his advocacy of transplantation and organ donation. Pictured, from left, are Dr. Herbert Pardes, president and CEO of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, Dr. Gerald Fischbach, executive vice president and dean, Tracy Mourning, Alonzo Mourning, and John Castle, advisory council chairman and NYPH trustee.

First Anniversary of Spine Center

The Spine Center of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital at CUMC, one of the first places in New York to have a range of back specialists under one roof, just celebrated its first anniversary. The center, on the fifth floor of the Neurological Institute, integrates P&S specialists in neurology, neurosurgery, neuropathology, orthopedics, rehabilitative medicine, anesthesiology/pain management and physical and occupational therapy.

Center for Bioethics Celebrates Second Anniversary

The Center for Bioethics celebrated its second anniversary with a talk by Dr. Ruth Faden, center, executive director of the Phoebe R. Berman Bioethics Institute at Johns Hopkins, on "Politics and Bioethics." Also pictured are Dr. Robert Klitzman, co-director and Dr. Ruth Fischbach, center director.

Substance Abuse and the American Family

The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA), in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, hosted a conference on substance abuse and the American family at CASA's midtown Manhattan headquarters. Two panels of addiction experts and medical and health journalists explored the ramifications of drug and alcohol abuse for the family, focusing on children, adolescents, and loved ones of addicts. Speakers included Dr. Wade F. Horn, Assistant Secretary for Children and Families in the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and Dr. Joseph Califano, adjunct professor of public health and psychiatry and CASA's founder.

CUMC has received a $5 million gift from Edward S. Reiner to establish the Reiner Center for Behavioral and Psychosomatic Medicine, the only center of its kind in New York City. The center seeks to promote excellence in exploring the influence of psychiatric, psychological, behavioral, and genetic factors in the development and treatment of medical illnesses. Dr. Ralph Wharton, clinical professor of psychiatry, and Dr. Richard Sloan, professor of behavioral medicine in psychiatry and director of the Behavioral Medicine Program, are center co-directors.

The Partnership for Gender-Specific Medicine at Columbia University held its seventh annual gala and Athena awards celebration in March. Proceeds from the event help fund the M. Irené Ferrer Professorship in Gender-Specific Medicine. Dr. Ferrer, professor emeritus of clinical medicine, was part of the Nobel Prize-winning team that developed the cardiac catheter. Pictured from left are Linda Fairstein, Esq., Athena Award for Government; Dr. Lewis Schneider, assistant professor of clinical medicine and Gender-Specific Practitioner of the Year; Dr. Patricia Duquette, Athena Award for Healthcare; Dr. Marianne Legato, professor of clinical medicine at P&S and founder and director of the partnership; Akiko Domoto, Governor of Chiba Prefecture, Japan, International Athena Award; Gloria Steinem, honorary chair; Joan Hamburg, Athena Award for Media; and Dr. Judith Shapiro, Athena Award for Education.

Allan Rosenfield, dean of the Mailman School of Public Health, has received the P&S Alumni Association's Special Recognition Award for outstanding accomplishments and leadership in American medicine. The School of Dental and Oral Surgery's national honor society also named Dr. Rosenfield a 2004 honorary member of its Epsilon Epsilon chapter, Omicron Kappa Upsilon, for his accomplishments at Columbia and service to SDOS.

Suzanne Bakken, alumni professor of nursing and professor of biomedical informatics, was awarded Columbia's Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching at the university's graduation ceremony on May 19.

Mary Dickey Lindsay, SON'45, has received a 2004 Alumni Medal from Columbia's Alumni Federation. The medals are awarded each year to acknowledge exceptional service and commitment to the university.

Dolores J. Bacon, assistant clinical professor of medicine and assistant dean of the faculty of medicine, recently received the Mid-Atlantic Regional Award for Excellence as a Clinician-Teacher from the Society of General Internal Medicine.

Jacqueline Nwando Onyejekwe, postdoctoral residency fellow and chief resident in family medicine, has been awarded one of five Commonwealth Fund/Harvard University Fellowships in Minority Health Policy for 2004-2005. The fellowship pays for her to complete an intensive year of training in health policy, public health and management with special focus on minority health issues, as well as academic work for a master's degree in public health from Harvard.

Craig R. Smith, chief of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, has been inducted into the American Surgical Association, one of the nation's oldest and most prestigious surgical organizations.

J Mocco, has been awarded the CNS Wilder Penfield Clinical Investigation Fellowship from the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. The fellowship assists neurosurgeons in obtaining formal training in clinical investigation.

Philip Josephs, SDOS'07, has been elected as the Northeast regional student representative to the American Dental Education Association Council of Students, which serves as the voice and advocate for all dental and allied students on a national level.

Stephen E. Novak, head of Archives & Special Collections at the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library, has received the Frederic Miller Finding Aid Award of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference (MARAC) for "outstanding achievement in the preparation of finding aids within the MARAC region" in 2003. Mr. Novak shared the award with Dr. Kathleen Kelly for the finding aid to the papers of Dr. Viola W. Bernard (1907-1998), a long time Columbia University faculty member who was a leading psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, child welfare advocate and political and social activist. The electronic version of the finding aid is located at: http://library.cpmc.columbia.edu/hsl/archives/findingaids/bernard.html.

Victor Lee is the new associate controller of medical center affairs, responsible for managing the financial accounting, accounts payable, and payroll departments for CUMC. Mr. Lee will work with the controller's office, internal and external auditors and CUMC business leaders and will oversee the day-to-day functioning of the central business office.

Mary E. Wheat has been appointed director of CUMC's Student Health Service. Dr. Wheat comes to Columbia from Barnard, where she was director of the Barnard College Student Health Service for the past 12 years and where she founded the Mindfulness Meditation-Based Stress Reduction and Relaxation Training Program. Dr. Wheat is dual board certified in internal medicine and preventive medicine.